Are you in foreclosure or did you recently lose your home to foreclosure? In many states, you have one last chance to get your house back — called redemption. When you redeem your home, you essentially repurchase your home from the person or entity that bought the home at foreclosure. If your state gives you the right to redeem, the purchaser must give you the home back if you pay the correct amount within the redemption time period.

How Does Redemption Work?

To redeem your home, you must:

act within the allotted time period (which varies by state), and

repay the amount that the purchaser paid at the foreclosure sale, plus certain costs and other fees. In some states you must also reimburse the purchaser for any repairs or maintenance done to the home.

The costs, fees, and other “extras” that you must pay vary by state.

Do You Always Get the Right to Redeem?

No. In some states, once the house is sold at foreclosure, you are out of luck. And in some states other factors affect whether you can redeem — for example, whether the foreclosure was judicial or nonjudicial or whether the loan documents waived the right to redeem.

How Much Time Do You Get to Redeem?

‘The time period in which you must redeem also varies widely by state. You might get 60 days or you might get a whole year. Often the time period is different depending on the type of foreclosure process used (judicial v. nonjudicial), whether you’ve abandoned the home, or whether the property is agricultural.

How to Find the Redemption Law in Your State?

Nolo recently published a series of articles on whether you can redeem your home after foreclosure. The series covers each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. In your state’s redemption article, you’ll find out whether you have the right to redeem, the redemption time period, the amount you’ll have to pay, any special procedures you must follow, how to find your state redemption statute, and more.

To find your state’s redemption after foreclosure article, go to Nolo’s Getting Your Home Back After Foreclosure topic page and click on your state. You can also find your state’s redemption article, plus other foreclosure articles specific to your state on Nolo’s State Foreclosure Laws topic page (again, click on your state).